Thong sandal with protective covering

ABSTRACT

A more comfortable thong sandal is disclosed. The strap of the thong sandal includes a piece of material added to the underside of the rubber body of the strap. This additional piece of material provides a cushion to alleviate irritating friction that would otherwise occur because of direct contact between the rubber body and a foot.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Footwear.

2. Description of the Related Art

A popular casual shoe is a thong sandal. A thong sandal can be easilyslipped on and off the foot. People generally wear thong sandals in warmweather (e.g., at the beach) or indoors (e.g., in a gym locker room), asthe sandal exposes much of the foot. In many instances wearing a thongsandal is uncomfortable for the first time or the first several times asa person's foot must adjust to the contact between the foot and thethong strap. Although some variations of thong sandals exist, there is aneed for a thong sandal that provides more comfort to the wearer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is illustrated by way of example and not by way oflimitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which likereferences indicate similar elements. It should be noted that referencesto “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily tothe same embodiment, and such references mean at least one.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a top view of an embodiment of a thong sandal.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a bottom view of the thong sandal of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a back view of the thong sandal of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an exploded view of the thong sandal of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a side view of the thong sandal of FIG. 1 beingworn.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a front view of the thong sandal of FIG. 1 beingworn.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an embodiment of a bottom view of a thong sandalstrap.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of an embodiment of a bottom view of a thong sandalstrap.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of an embodiment of a bottom view of a thong sandalstrap.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of an embodiment of a bottom view of a thong sandalstrap.

FIG. 11 is a diagram of an embodiment of a bottom view of a thong sandalstrap.

FIG. 12 is a diagram of an embodiment of a bottom view of a thong sandalstrap.

FIG. 13 is a diagram of an embodiment of a bottom view of a thong sandalstrap.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1-3 are diagrams of a top, bottom (or underside), and back sideview, respectively, of a thong sandal. Thong sandal 100 includes sole105 to support the weight of a foot and strap 120 to assure that sole105 (and overall sandal) stays with the foot while the foot is moving,such as when the person is walking.

Sole 105 at upper side 110 receives strap 120 through posts (alsoreferred to as prongs or plugs) 220, 230, 240 that extend through to theunderside of sole 210. While FIG. 2 depicts three posts, the thongsandal 100 may alternatively be manufactured with five posts (one postat the toe end and two posts for each of the two posts shown at the heelend). Thong sandals with posts that extend all the way through to theunderside of the sole are classified as “house slippers” and aregenerally cheaper to import, as these types of shoes incur lower costsin duties from overseas. Thus, a thong sandal of this style is generallynotably cheaper than a thong sandal containing posts that do not extendall the way through to the underside of the sole.

Strap 120 is composed of a base piece 130 that forms the main body ofthe strap 120 and includes the posts 220, 230, 240 that are attached tothe sole 105. Base piece 130 is a polymer material (e.g., syntheticrubber, thermal plastic urethane (TPU), thermal plastic rubber (TPR),polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or any combination of these materials, etc.).One way a base piece may be formed is by using a mold, where a polymermaterial in liquid form is poured or injected into the mold to set, thuscreating a molded polymer strap of flexible, closed cell material.Accordingly, base piece 130 and posts 220, 230 and 240 are integrallyformed as a single unit. As noted above, a strap formed solely of apolymer mold (with a hardness property of 65-70 PSI) without any addedpadding can cause discomfort to the foot of a person wearing the shoebecause of the friction created from contact between the rubber basepiece 130 and the foot. The discomfort is generally centered on areas ofthe foot with the greatest or heaviest contact to the strap, such asbetween the big toe and the second toe (in contact with a toe post ofthe strap) and the upper surface of the foot near the big toe and thesecond toe (in contact with the two main portions of the strap).

In one embodiment, the strap 120 is also composed of a padding piece 140attached to the underside of base piece 130. Padding piece 140 providesa cushion between base piece 130 and the foot, alleviating discomfortthat might otherwise be caused by friction between base piece 130 andthe foot. Padding piece 140 is made of a material that provides morecushion than base piece 130, such as neoprene, ethylene vinyl acetate(EVA), cotton, organic fabric, or synthetic material (e.g., an open cellpolymer or polymer gel). Padding piece 140 is thus compressible inresponse to the force of the foot against padding piece 140 to providesuch cushion, whereas base piece 130 is generally not compressible inresponse to the force of the foot against base piece 130 and causesdiscomfort to the foot. Padding piece 140 is stitched, glued, taped,and/or fused to base piece 130. Padding piece 140 may also wrap aroundpost 220 and may be connected to post 220 or connected to itself aroundthe post (e.g., free ends of padding piece 140 are stitched together).

In one embodiment, base piece 130 has a body, exclusive of posts 220,230 and 240, that has a generally uniform thickness, e.g., on the orderof 0.1 to 0.25 inches. Alternatively, base piece 130 may be molded withan inset (concave) space or an underside (side intended to face sole105) so that padding piece 140 may be placed inside the inset space ofbase piece 130. Collectively, the arrangement of base piece 130 havingan inset and padding piece 140 form a strap of generally uniformthickness forms an even surface at the underside portion of the strap120, with padding piece 140 not protruding or not significantlyprotruding from the underside surface of base piece 130. Rather, theedges of the underside surface of base piece 130 around the inset spaceare at an approximately equivalent surface level with padding piece 140.

Padding piece 140 may be of various sizes. In one embodiment, paddingpiece 140 is a single piece that covers the entire underside of basepiece 130 (at the two main portions) and wraps around post 220 (the toeportion of base piece 130) that would be situated between the big toeand the second toe. FIGS. 1-3 show padding piece 140 wrapped around post220. In another embodiment, padding piece 148 is not wrapped around post220 but instead, as a single distinct piece or multiple distinct pieces,is connected to post 230 and post 240 so that post 230 and post 240 arepadded but post 220 is not. In another embodiment, padding piece 140 isa single piece that covers just a portion of the aforementioned parts ofbase piece 130, such as a portion of each of post 230 and post 240between post 220 that is likely to contact a top portion of a human footwhen sandal 100 is worn (i.e., padding piece 140 extends from adjacentpost 220 less than a length of post 230 or post 240 between post 220 andsole 105, respectively). Typically, a sandal such as sandal 100 whenworn contacts less than an entire portion of a foot. Generally a pointof contact that creates the most friction with the foot while walking isan open area of post 230 and post 240 near the big toe and the secondtoe. Furthermore, padding piece 140 may be composed of multiple pieces.For example, a first distinct portion of padding piece 140 may wraparound post 220, and a second distinct portion of padding piece 140 maybe connected to an underside of base 130 exposed to the top surface ofthe foot can be another piece.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an exploded view of a thong sandal. In thisfigure, base piece 130, padding piece 140, and sole 105 are detachedfrom one another to illustrate the components of this embodiment of athong sandal.

To manufacture a thong sandal, base piece 130, padding piece 140, andsole 105 are created separately and subsequently assembled. Paddingpiece 140 is attached to base piece 130 via stitching, gluing, taping,or fusing. Then, strap 120 (composed of padding piece 140 attached tobase piece 130) is attached to sole 105 by securing posts 220, 230, 240of the strap to sole 105. The posts 220, 230, 240 are inserted throughopenings 225, 235 respectively, through the entire width of the sole105, such that the posts 220, 230, 240 are visible from the undersideview of the sole 105. In one embodiment, only posts 220, 230 240 of basepiece 130 are inserted through openings 225, 235 and 245, respectively,of sole 105. In other words, padding piece 140 is not also inserted inor through the openings.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a side view of a thong sandal being worn. FIG. 5depicts a thong sandal on a foot 410.

When a person is walking, the movement of the foot 410 causes contactbetween the foot 410 and the strap 120 and is particularly discomfortingaround the area of most friction 420. The padding of the strap 120 maycover the entire underside surface of the strap 120 (and the part of thestrap 120 between the big toe and the second toe) or the padding may belimited to the portion of the strap 120 that creates the most frictionwith the foot 410.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a front view of a thong sandal being worn. Inthis view, the piece of the strap 120 between the big toe and the secondtoe can be seen. This portion of the strap 120 (i.e., post 220)typically creates friction with the foot 410 while the person is walkingand can be discomforting if that portion of the strap 120 does notcontain padding. The upper surface of the foot 410 near the big toe andthe second toe is also in great contact with the strap 120; this contactcan also be discomforting if that portion of the strap 120 does notcontain padding. Thus, at least these portions of the strap 120 wouldinclude padding.

FIGS. 7-13 are diagrams of various embodiments of a bottom view (soleside view) of a five post/prong thong sandal strap. Note that theembodiments described above depict a three post/prong thong sandalstrap. The strap has a rubber base piece 1050 (including posts 1010,1020, 1030, 1040, 1050) and a padding piece attached together throughstitching, gluing, taping, or fusing. The figures show variousembodiments of a padding piece that may be used with a five post sandalstrap or a three post sandal strap as described above.

The padding piece may be a single piece of various sizes. For example,the padding pieces 140, 510, 520, 560 of FIGS. 7, 8, 9, and 13 cover therubber base piece 1005 to various extents. Generally, the padding isfocused on at least the upper portion of the padding piece.

The padding piece may be made of multiple padding parts. FIGS.10-12depict padding pieces of three (530A, 530B, 530C, 540A, 540B, 540C)or five parts (550A, 550B, 550C, 550D, 550E). Further variations arerecognized of different numbers of padding parts.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described withreference to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evidentthat various modifications and changes can be made thereto withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the appended claims. The specification and drawings are,accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictivesense.

1. A thong sandal comprising: a sole having an upper side and anunderside; and a strap including: a base piece having an upper side andan underside, the base piece including posts, the posts inserted throughthe sole and exposed at the underside of the sole; and a padding piececoupled to the underside of the base piece.
 2. The thong sandal of claim1, the padding piece alleviates friction between the base piece and afoot.
 3. The thong sandal of claim 1, the base piece being a moldedrubber material.
 4. The thong sandal of claim 3, the molded robbermaterial selected from the group consisting of thermal plastic urethane(TPU), thermal plastic rubber (TPR), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC)b. 5.The thong sandal of claim 1, the padding piece being a cushion material.6. The thong sandal of claim 1, the underside of the base piece havingan inset space, the padding piece situated in the inset space such thatan exposed surface of the padding piece and a surface of the undersideof the base piece outside the inset space are continuous.
 7. A thongsandal comprising: a sole; and a strap having: a molded rubber basepiece defined by a toe portion, a first main portion, a second mainportion, and posts, wherein the toe portion, the first main portion, thesecond main portion, and the posts formed as integral parts of themolded rubber base piece; and a padding piece coupled to the moldedrubber base piece.
 8. The thong sandal of claim 7, the padding piece isstitched to the molded rubber base piece.
 9. The thong sandal of claim7, the padding piece is glued to the molded rubber base piece.
 10. Thethong sandal of claim 7, the padding piece is fused to the molded rubberbase piece.
 11. The thong sandal of claim 7, the padding piecealleviates friction between the molded rubber base piece and a foot. 12.The thong sandal of claim 7, the padding piece is composed of materialbased at least in part on one of neoprene, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA),cotton, organic fabric, antibacterial fabric, gels, lycra, stretchfabrics, or synthetic material.
 13. The thong sandal of claim 7, thepadding piece being split into two or more pieces.
 14. The thong sandalof claim 7, the molded rubber base piece having three posts.
 15. Thethong sandal of claim 7, the molded rubber base piece having five posts.16. A method comprising: attaching a padding piece to a molded rubberbase piece to create a strap, the molded rubber base piece having posts;inserting the posts of the strap through a sole, the sole having anupper side and an underside; and securing the posts of the strap at theunderside of the sole.